Tuesday, December 9, 2014

I
have always been interested in animals, nature and other creations of God.
National Geographic and other similar channels whet one’s interest in this area
to the hilt. Whenever I have some spare time, I watch animal serials. My desire
to watch these serials has increased manifold in recent times.( a big thanks to
Arnab Goswami, Barkha and their ilk) Watching NEWS is a no no – it’s a #@$%#
world. When one watches a serial on leopards – there is no screaming from Arnab
– no Singhvi, Maroof Raza, Salman Kurshid, Manish Tiwari to offer expert
comments – more importantly there is no debate – the viewer is left alone to
watch something interesting and form their views peacefully and without duress.
The leopard is also left alone and not subjected to a barrage of questions – “Nation
wants to know why you have been repeatedly killing harmless antelopes” your
channel wants to know “God” – “are you secular?” etc. Anyone familiar with the Big
Fat Indian TV scene will vouch that we are used to watching ‘Breaking News’
only – it is surprising that my TV set is still intact after so many bits of breaking
news flooding the scene. Fortunately there is no breaking news from Kruger,
Masai Mara or Serengeti National Parks.

Coming
back to the point, after repeated viewing, I have been able to summarize the
purpose of all animal life as follows – the foremost being, to continue the bloodline.
The rest of their activities support the main aim. Eat to survive, rest to
recoup, mark and defend one’s own territory at all cost, exercise and impose
one’s authority and finally find a mate to procreate and continue the blood
line. Anything the animal does in pursuit of these requirements is justified by
the laws of nature. They have evolved over millions of years to use stealth,
camouflage, cunning, violence, opportunity, greed, stealing, scavenging,
alluring, bullying, grouping, protection of offspring, social hierarchy to
survive – you name it - it’s all there in the animal kingdom.

Around
65 million years ago humans started to evolve and we are here today as masters
of the world around us. We have made great strides in medicine, transportation,
communication and in every field that is associated with the human species.
These magnificent achievements separate us from the animals. If one looks
closely at all these achievements, you realize that they are all “outside of us”.

What about the evolution of the “inside of us”?
I hardly find anything changed in all these years. In spite of 65 million years
of evolution, we still fight over territory more ferociously than lions. Almost
all the current wars are over territorial disputes. Closer to home, India is
embroiled in land disputes with Pakistan and China, draining our economy,
growth and destroying any possibility of harmonious living. Land grabbing has
become a fine art and so has encroachment. Property disputes ruin families,
brothers are pitted against each other, husbands and wife fight over a piece of
land and the list is endless. Have we evolved?

When it comes to sex crimes, we are worse off
than animals. There is a strict code of conduct in the animal world. There are
none in the evolved world. If the recent spate of child rapes in Bengaluru and cab
rape in New Delhi are any yard stick to go by, then we are way behind the
animals. Atrocities against women put a big question mark on the theory of
evolution. Sex related crimes are very common in all parts of the world.

The
recent incidents involving white policemen and African Americans in the US, questions
the very development of our society. It is very common in India to see hate
crimes against people from the North East. Recently a mid day meal scheme near
Mysuru was abandoned as the food was being cooked by a Dalit. It cannot get any
worse than this. All our societies are replete with such horrific
transgressions.

Dadagiri
is rampant in India. Political clout is displayed with utmost flamboyance on a
day to day basis. Silverback apes will think twice before they can compete with
any of our Political heavyweights. Political workers can walk into any
restaurant and create havoc – loot, damage and physically hurt people with
impunity – and get away with it. This is straight from the TV serial ‘Animal
Planet’ wherein our closest relative, the chimpanzees, attack another community
for no reason. Chimps are known to indulge in wars lasting up to four years.

We as
humans are yet to find a single God in all these millions of years. In his name,
we shed blood and hatred without any hesitation. When it comes to religion our
most basic and primordial instincts seem to take charge and possess us. The
present day world is preoccupied with religious intolerance and bigotry. Half
our time and effort goes into resolving these issues.

One
could deliberate on this issue endlessly. It suffices to say that the
“evolution within” seems to have made very little progress. In fact, compared
to our predecessors, it has regressed. Where is the equanimity with which they
took the world and its problems into their stride? Where is the sense of right
and wrong, the innocence of the young, and the contentment of the aged? Most of
our age old wisdom and tradition seems to have been lost in transition.

If I
were to take ‘Science Fiction’ as some sort of a window into the future, the emerging
scene does not augur well for coming generations. Star Wars, Star Trek,
Terminator, Alien, Guardians of the Galaxy and others revolve around present
day themes – warring nations are replaced by wars between planets and galaxies.
Hatred, dominance, personal prejudice, stealing and other such 2014 attributes
still continue to play a major role in the ‘reel’ future too.

Monday, November 17, 2014

It is not the strongest or the most
intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change. --Charles
Darwin

In my earlier blog http://samundarbaba.blogspot.in/2010/09/festivals-ganapati-pooja.html
I had very briefly touched upon the aspect of ‘Change’- while commenting on
festivals in India I had noted –‘Religions and festivals are products of the social
requirements of the day. The social environment dictates the level, nature and
variety of worship in almost all the religions. Society is constantly evolving
and dynamic - what was in fashion a generation earlier may not be of any
significance today’.

Extending the argument to all aspects
of life, I notice that change is inherent and constant.

The other day, I was watching David
Attenborough’s ‘Rise of Animals’- a
landmark series about the astonishing evolutionary advances over last 500
million years. In Episode 1: ‘From the
Seas to the Skies’ he traces how primitive fish once swam in ancient seas
but remarkable advances allowed them to make the radical move onto land, and
then they took to the skies with the advent of flight. In Episode 2:Dawn of the
Mammals he unlocks the meteoric rise of mammals that led to an astounding
diversity of life and laid the foundations for the ascent of man.

We are a product of change and living
in a world which is constantly changing and evolving. All of us need to
understand this very basic fact of life. Change embraces all aspects of our
life - be it parenting, schooling, education, employment, marriage, religion, politics,
urban development, warfare, statehood, food, health, travel, leisure,
retirement and so on. We cannot escape this all encompassing universal
phenomenon.

In our day to day life, I come across
some people who find it very difficult to accept change. They either turn a
blind eye or pretend that there is no change. Such people live in a world of contradiction,
which does not solve any problem but only adds to the overall confusion. I do
not know if this attitude is correct or otherwise .But what I do know is that
these people are in constant struggle to cope up with the change which is
taking place around them with or without their acknowledgement.

Take for instance the question of
marriage – we raise our children with liberal ideas, freedom of action,
international exposure, sense of fair play, natural justice and so on - and in
the end insist on choosing a partner for our sons and daughters. Here lies the
dichotomy. A girl child is given the best of education but prevented from
working after marriage.

Post marriage, both the partners
should understand the changes that have taken place around this institution.
Gone are the days of husband being the only provider and wife confined to the
house. Equal sharing of responsibilities, chores around the house, parenting
duties are the rule rather than the exception. Our attitude and mind set has to
be re booted to establish a new platform which will support modern marriages.
Look around, and you will notice most of the present day divorces are as a
result of our inability to come to terms with the new set of rules.

People who notice these small changes
that are taking place around them and adopt themselves to these changes are the
winners.

Parenting is a very serious and
difficult chore – especially today. Busy parents, emergence of the e-child with computers, smart phones,
the internet, face book, twitter and the rest. How does one balance the equation?
Are children being robbed of their childhood with all this e-dust around them?
Are they in a fast forward mode? Parents need to sense this change and react
accordingly. A new set of rules have to be framed.

Education in India is another aspect
which has remained extremely stagnant over many decades. We have failed to
embrace change and unwittingly continue to rely on processes which suited a
different time frame and mind set. Lord Macauley introduced modern education in
India. It was the introduction of Wood’s dispatch of 1854, known as the Magna
Carta of Indian education that laid the foundation of the present system of education.The main purpose of it was to
prepare clerks for running the local administration (white collar workers).It
is easy to surmise that the spirit of inquiry was not propagated or
encouraged. Generations of educated Indians emerged without once asking ‘why’.
If the grant of patents, number of inventions and discoveries are any
indication – we have lost the race. We need to change. Hope the new bill on
education under preparation and due in 2015 will address these issues.

Finally
retirement is an excellent issue for a case study in ‘Change’. Nowhere else is the
acceptance of change so paramount! Work quotient, earnings, status, symbols of
power and wealth, health, libido and the like take a nose dive. On retirement we
enter a new realm, which is totally different from what we have been used to in
all the previous forty years or so. There are only two options – brood and live
unhappily or change and make merry.

Chill maadi and move with the tide of change.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Come
September, the Indian landscape changes rapidly. As the rains withdraw, it
ushers the end of monsoon. The countryside looks squeaky clean and dry-cleaned;
the people are out on the streets once again in bright and colorful clothes. As
if the heavens were just waiting to celebrate, September and October hosts a
number of important festivals. Ganapati, followed by Onam, Dussera, Navaratri and
Deepavali bring in gaiety and merriment all over the country. Children and
parents step out of their routine and make feverish plans to proceed to holiday
destinations. We were no different and decided to go to the Coorg Golf Links Club
for a golfing holiday. Sampath and Saroja readily agreed to come on board.
Ashok and Push joined us from Delhi. Dore and Lalitamma most graciously lent
their valuable company in spite of being ‘non golfers’. All in all, eight of us
left Bangalore in the early hours of 25th Sep in two cars towards
Virajpet -Bittangala – Ambatty Village and
finally the club. The village is located at an elevation of 3000ft and about 80
kms from the Arabian Sea. The weather is a bit muggy, with so much of rain and
proximity to the sea. It is very comfortable in the mornings and late evenings
but hot and humid during the sunny hours. The drive from Bangalore to the club
is fairly smooth– except for one bad patch in the forest area prior to
Gonikoppal. It took us about 6 hrs to travel 240 Kms.*( Lovely breakfast
enroute at Kamath’s)

Jai and self
wanted to go some place nearby to celebrate our 25th wedding
anniversary in May 2002 and that is when, a close friend, Air Commodore Ganapathy
suggested that we visit Coorg Golf Links Club. At that point of time I was a
non golfer and went there to absorb the ambiance, weather, Koduva hospitality
et al. The club had only one room at that time and very meager facilities. In
spite of all that, our stay was wonderful and we had the opportunity to meet Gana’s
sister and brother-in-law Mr. K.K.Aiyappa, the Patron of the Golf course and
Club. We had a wonderful time and came back with a bag full of sweet memories.
This time around, I once again zeroed in on the place where we had, had such a
lovely time. Thanks Gana once again.

Over time,
the club buildings and golf course has developed by leaps and bounds thanks to
the passion and flair shown by the management. Their desire to provide a good
clubbing experience is evident in all its facets. The club house is situated at
an elevation overlooking the golf course, which is nestled in a valley. The
club is fairly old – it started as a 9 hole course in 1991 and later developed
into 18 holes 6950 yard, par 72 course. The course is well maintained and
provides a degree of challenge to all the golfers as the course winds its way
up from the plateau to the hills and back. The front nine and the back nine are
totally different in character. The first five holes creep up the steep
gradient of the hill, extracting all one’s energy. All along the course the
view is simply lovely. Tall trees regally line both sides of the fairway adding
a bit of old world charm to the course.

The early
morning view is one of extreme peace and tranquility. Early risers are greeted
by hill tops covered in a blanket of cloud, wet flora and fauna, the fresh
smell of the earth and the never ending chirping of different birds. We went
golfing on all the days, whilst Dore and all the ladies went sightseeing, shopping
and most importantly for dawn and dusk strolls.

Having all
the meals in the club house provides you an opportunity to gorge on the
wonderful ambiance. The Western Ghats are clearly visible from the club house.
The overall mood quickly enhances the appetite and one tends to indulge in
gluttony. The food prepared by the club is simple and tasty. The club has a well stocked bar to nurse any flagging golfer back to good cheer.

On 28th Sep,
we visited Bhangandeshwara - Shiva temple at Bhagamangala. At this place, the river
Cauvery is joined by two tributaries, the Kannike and the mythical Sujyoti
river. Lots of devotees visit this auspicious place and take a holy dip at the
‘Triveni Sangam’. Thereafter we went to Talakaveri, the source of the river Cauvery.

Overall the
holiday was full value for money – going with old friends is akin to getting
into a pair of old shoes – tested and tried, totally comfortable, warm and
familiar. Having rested body, mind and soul, we returned to good old Bangalore on
29th Sep.

We were a tad
disappointed to enter Bangalore and to facethe ground reality – over crowded streets, traffic jams, filth strewn
all over the place and the accompanying ills of a growing metropolis.